2007 AFC Asian Cup
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The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals are currently being held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition is being co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Asian Cup had previously been held every 4 years from 1956 onwards, the last cup being held in China in 2004. However, with the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship also held in the same year as the Asian Cup (2004, 2008, 2012 etc.), the AFC decided to change their tradition and hold the tournament in 2007, and every four years henceforth from that date.
This will be the first major AFC tournament in which Australia will participate as member. Australia was the first non-host nation to qualify.
Host selection
The decision to have four host nations for this edition of the Asian Cup was proposed and presented to the executive committee by AFC president Mohammed Bin Hammam. However, he later regretted this decision and called it his "mistake", citing the financial and logistic difficulties in organising an event across four countries.
He said that "It is proving very difficult for [the executive committee as they] have to have four organising committees, four media centres and there are also financial considerations." He also revealed that "[He would] definitely [not do] it [again]," if he had the choice.
In June 2005, the Asian Football Confederation warned Thailand that it needed to improve its facilities before 2007, otherwise it would be dropped, possibly being replaced with Singapore. On August 12 of the same year, the AFC confirmed that Thailand would be a co-host of the 2007 Asian Cup.[1] However in October 2006, Thailand was again warned to improve its facilities in 90 days.[2]
Venues
Nation | City | Venue | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
Indonesia | Jakarta | Bung Karno Stadium | 100,000 |
Palembang | Jakabaring Stadium | 40,000 | |
Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | National Stadium, Bukit Jalil | 87,000 |
Shah Alam | Shah Alam Stadium | 69,372 | |
Thailand | Bangkok | Rajamangala National Stadium | 65,000 |
Suphachalasai Stadium | 35,000 | ||
Vietnam | Hanoi | My Dinh National Stadium | 40,000 |
Ho Chi Minh City | Army Stadium | 25,000 |
Qualification
The qualification round ran from February 22, 2006 to November 15, 2006. For the first time, the defending champions (Japan) needed to attend the qualification stage. Twenty-four teams attempted to qualify for 2007 AFC Asian Cup. They were divided into 4 teams for each group and determined the remaining last 12 places, as the four co-hosts - Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam - were already granted automatic qualification.
Seeds
For the first time, the seeds are based on the October 2006 FIFA World Rankings instead of the basis of the performance from the previous AFC Asian Cup competition. This was to ensure that the same number of strong teams do not meet in the early stage.[3]
The four seeded teams were announced on December 19 2006. The seeds comprised Pot 4 in the draw. Pot 1 consists of the teams from all co-hosts.
Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 |
---|---|---|---|
On December 19, 2006, the draw was held in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
Match ball
The Official Match Ball for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup was launched by Nike on May 15 2007, making it the first time ever that a ball had been launched specifically for any football competition in Asia.[4] The Nike Mercurial Veloci AC features four blue stripes with gold trim with each host city's name inscribed, as well as the AFC Asian Cup logo.[5]
Officials
16 referees and 24 assistant referees were officially cleared following a fitness test scheduled on July 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One referee and two assistant referees have also been named from the CAF. [6]
Matthew Breeze
Mark Shield
Jasim Karim
Baojie Sun
Masoud Moradi
Yuichi Nishimura
Saad Kameel Al Fadhli
Talaat Najm
Abdulrahman Abdou
Khalil Ibrahim Al Ghamdi
Eddy Maillet
Kwon Jung-Chul †
Gi Young Lee
Mushen Basma
Satop Tongkhan
Ali Hamad Madhad Saif Albadwawi
† Replaced Shamsul Maidin after the referee pulled out with injury.[7]
Squads
Group stage
Group A
Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Thailand ![]() | 1 - 1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Suksomkit (pen) 6' | Younis Mahmoud 32' |
Attendance:
Referee: Kwon Jung-Chul (Korea)
Australia ![]() | 1 - 1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Cahill 90' | Al-Maimani 32' |
Attendance:
Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)
Group B
Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vietnam ![]() | In Progress | ![]() |
---|---|---|
H.Q. Thanh 64' Lê Công Vinh 73' |
Attendance:
Referee: Talaat Najm (Lebanon)
Group C
Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group D
Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Knockout stage
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
July 21 - Bangkok | ||||||||||
1st Group A | ||||||||||
July 25 - Kuala Lumpur | ||||||||||
2nd Group B | ||||||||||
July 22 - Kuala Lumpur | ||||||||||
1st Group C | ||||||||||
July 29 - Jakarta | ||||||||||
2nd Group D | ||||||||||
July 21 - Hanoi | ||||||||||
1st Group B | ||||||||||
July 25 - Hanoi | ||||||||||
2nd Group A | ||||||||||
July 22 - Jakarta | ||||||||||
Third place | ||||||||||
1st Group D | ||||||||||
July 28 - Palembang | ||||||||||
2nd Group C | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals
1st Group B | – | 2nd Group A |
---|---|---|
1st Group A | – | 2nd Group B |
---|---|---|
1st Group C | – | 2nd Group D |
---|---|---|
1st Group D | – | 2nd Group C |
---|---|---|
Semi-finals
Quarter final 2 | – | Quarter final 3 |
---|---|---|
Quarter final 1 | – | Quarter final 4 |
---|---|---|
Third place playoff
Loser Semi final 1 | – | Loser Semi final 2 |
---|---|---|
Final
Goalscorers
1 goal:
References
- ^ "Thailand confirmed as AFC Asian Cup 2007 co-host". AFC. 2005-08-12.
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(help) - ^ "Thailand handed 90-day Asian Cup reprieve". The Guardian. 2006-10-17.
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(help) - ^ "AFC Asian Cup 2007 Organising Committee approves team classification for Final Draw". AFC. 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
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(help) - ^ "AFC Asian Cup 2007™ Official Match Ball launched". AFC. 2006-06-26.
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(help) - ^ "Exclusive Pictures: Asian Cup Match Ball". 442 Magazine Australia. 2007-05-14.
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(help) - ^ "Officials announced for Asian Cup". AFC. 2007-06-21.
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(help) - ^ "Referee Maidin ruled out through injury". AFC. 2007-06-26.
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External links
- AFC Asian Cup 2007 - the official website
- Asian Cup 2007 at RSSSF